Thousands bid farewell to Boston firefighters killed on duty

Thursday

Apr 3, 2014 at 12:01 AMApr 3, 2014 at 7:06 PM

Thousands of firefighters who came from around the country for the back-to-back services will take part in ceremonies honoring Firefighter Michael Kennedy on Thursday. Lt. Edward Walsh was buried in Watertown on Wednesday after being honored by firefighters from as far as Washington state.

By Dana Forsythewatertown@wickedlocal.com

A 33-year-old Boston firefighter and former Marine killed fighting an apartment blaze is being honored a day after a colleague who died with him was laid to rest.

Thousands of firefighters who came from around the country for the back-to-back services will take part in ceremonies honoring Firefighter Michael Kennedy of Hyde Park on Thursday.

His funeral is scheduled at Holy Name Church in the West Roxbury neighborhood where he grew up. He was the son of Kathy Crosby of Cohasset and Paul Kennedy of Holbrook.

Kennedy died alongside 43-year-old Lt. Edward Walsh when they became trapped in the burning brownstone in the Back Bay area March 26.

Walsh was buried next to his father, also a firefighter, in Watertown on Wednesday after being honored by firefighters from as far as Washington state. Walsh, 43, leaves a wife and three children under age 10.

Just after 10 a.m. on Wednesday, firefighters in silent formation saluted as the body of Boston Fire Dept. Lt. Edward J. Walsh was escorted toward St. Patrick Parish.

Known as Eddie and Edzo – Walsh lived with his family in West Roxbury, but he and his family are well known in Watertown. He grew up in town, and graduated from Watertown High School in 1989, said School Committee Chairwoman Eileen Hsu-Balzer.His mother Joan still lives in town and worked for the Watertown Public Schools as a Title 1 tutor, and also worked at a number of schools, including the Hosmer School and West Junior High School (now Watertown Middle School).For several years, Walsh worked in finance, but he "had a calling," said his sister, Kathy Malone during the funeral service. He took the firefighter's exam, aced it and waited, she said, until he found a spot on the Boston Fire Department."The Walsh family has got deep roots in the fire service," said Watertown Fire Chief Mario Orangio.Walsh's father, Edward Sr., worked on the Watertown Fire Department, along with two of his brothers – Tom and William. Walsh's cousin Tom Walsh currently works as a captain on the Watertown Fire Department, along with Ed's brother-in-law Robert Malone. He also has cousins on the fire departments in Braintree, Worcester and at Camp Pendleton in California.Firefighting was important to Walsh, and Kathy added he was an extremely devoted family man. Walsh leaves behind his wife Kristen, and three children - Morgan, Dillon and Griffin and well as his brother, Michael. He coached Dillon's baseball, football and basketball teams, as well as Morgan's soccer team, according to the obituary from Stanton Funeral Home.He also doted on his mother after his father died."Fourteen years ago Eddie stepped in and watched over my mother with a careful eye, even when he ran a household with Kristen," Kathy Malone said. "No one asked him to, he just did it."Walsh's 6-foot-4 frame could be imposing, Malone said, but anyone who met him soon realized he was a caring person."People said once he shook your hand you knew he was simply a nice guy," she said.Between his family and working for the fire department, Walsh somehow found time to devote many hours to his favorite causes. Ed volunteered his time for the Brian McNeil Memorial Foundation, the Lt. Paul J. Sullivan Scholarship Fund, Franciscan Children's Hospital, and other causes. He also worked at the Oak Square YMCA as a facilities director."He lived more in 43 years than most of us will in 80," Malone said. "He was destined to do great things and he did."Among those in attendance outside the church was Boston Fire Fighter Eddie Mckinnon, who graduated from the fire academy with Walsh and has been serving on the fire department for the past 10 years."He was a great guy, stand up guy. Great father, great family man," Mckinnon said of Walsh.Like many others, Mckinnon said he was shocked to hear about Walsh's death last week."I would have thought that Eddie was invincible," Mckinnon said of Walsh. "I'm going to miss him."Boston Firefighter Anthony Hinds also knew Walsh and described him as a person who was both well liked and respected."He'd do anything for anyone," Hinds said. "He was just one of those kinds of people."Hinds also said Walsh would have been humbled by the funeral service and the amount of people in attendance."He would actually be very, well, speechless," Hinds said "Anytime something like this happens, you never think about yourself it's always the next person. And he wouldn't actually want much of a fuss."Firefighter's FarewellA firefighter's funeral is always difficult, Orangio said, and Walsh's really touched the Watertown Fire Department."If you are in the fire service for long enough, you go to (a firefighter's funeral)," Orangio said. "This is the first time for a lot of us have known the person who has gone down."Many current Watertown firefighters grew up and went to school with Walsh, Orangio said.Prior to the service, Watertown Fire Dept. Fire Captain Stephen Igoe said it's been a tough week for the department."A lot of guys in our department knew Eddie personally and the Walsh family has been connected to the fire department for a long, long time. It just hits home," he said.Igoe said he said the outpouring of support is an example of the brotherhood and connection firefighters have."You just get together and stick together and bond with the brotherhood," he said. "It gets you through it."Igoe said he'd met Lt. Walsh several times through friends and family."I had the pleasure of meeting him a half a dozen times through other members of his family I worked with, including his father," he said. "They're just a very fire-oriented family. They've got a lot of history with the department over the last 50 to 60 years. There's always been a Walsh in the department. Eddie was just a real good example of what it means to be a firefighter."The Bond of BrotherhoodThough not everyone in attendance knew Walsh personally, they were all there to show their support for Walsh, his family, and their fellow firefighters."It's what we do," Jim Oliveri, of the New York City Fire Department said. "We're all brothers."Oliveri knows first hand just how tight that community is, having attended funerals for the many New York City Firefighters who lost their lives on Sept. 11 2001."We lost 343 guys in the Trade Center," Oliveri said. "I've been to more funerals then I care to remember."Fellow New York City Firefighter William Butler said many of the fire departments in attendance for Walsh's services were also in New York after the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. He said it was an honor to be in attendance for Walsh's services and be able to return the support."It's a combination of morning and celebrating, obviously showing his friends and family truly what the brotherhoods all about and being able to send him off in an appropriate manner," Butler said.Firefighter Scott Trumbull traveled all the way from of London, Ontario to attend Walsh's services, and said it's important for his family to see that the entire firefighting community stands with them."It's not just American firefighters [that] support them, Canadians do and from all over the world," Trumbull said. "It's part of the brotherhood, it the way we always do it."Firefighter Tom Reyes, of Palm Beach County Florida agreed that having the firefighting community in attendance to show their respect for Walsh is an important for Walsh's family and collogues."It helps with the healing," Reyes said. "For them to know they're not going through it along, the family, the department, and also for us because we all grieve for him. This a good thing."Reyes said the crowed was bigger then he had expected."It's fantastic," Reyes said.Lt. Dan Oakes of the Philadelphia Fire Department, also a Sergeant in the local 22-firefighter paramedic union of Philadelphia said he and about 50 of his fellow firefighters made the trip from Philadelphia for Walsh's service.He said this was the biggest service he's attended, and that it was especially tragic given that two firefighters were killed fighting the same fire. He said the amount of firefighters in attendance says something about how close the brotherhood and sisterhood of fighter fighters is."It speaks for itself. I mean, you have this many people out for two guys that you don't know," Oakes said. "We come out to support the family, we come out to support the fire department and honor the guys that made the ultimate sacrifice."Around 8 a.m., firefighters from Maine, Florida, and neighboring Massachusetts towns flooded into downtown Watertown coffee shops and restaurants while waiting for the funeral procession to begin.Inside the Starbucks on Mt. Auburn St., firefighters Carlos Ortiz, Kyle Krupa and Catherine Cieri from the Hartford Fire Dept. in Hartford, Conn., talked about the upcoming service for Lt. Walsh."We have been to things like this before, unfortunately," Cieri said.Ortiz, who is now retired, said he drove down early in the morning from Toronto, Canada."We've been to similar memorials like 9/11 in New York and actually here in Boston in 2007 in West Roxbury, when two firefighters died," he said.Cieri said the memorial service and gathering of firefighters is an integral part of the healing process for the brotherhood of jakes."It's just what you want to do," she said. "It's a family, a sisterhood, a brotherhood. We're all here supporting each other and representing our job."Krupa added to the sentiment, saying that the gathering is an important focal point for the grieving process."I think being here for support, this is where it starts," he said. "The Boston firefighters will take care of their own and their families and the IAFF (International Association of Fire Fighters) will also continue to support them.""There's healing, but there's never forgetting," Cieri chimed in.Inside the Crown Café on Main Street, retired Boston Fire Dept. firefighter Manny Arruda talked about traveling up from Florida for Walsh's funeral."I served on the force for 30 years in Boston, I live now in Florida and I traveled up with my friend Jeff Morse, who is a lieutenant with the Naples Fire Dept.," he said. "I was on my way home last week when I heard the news and I met with Jeff for a beer to talk about it. When we heard that two firefighters had died we knew right then we were making the trip up here.""A death in the family is what it is," Arruda continued. "We lost two brothers and it's heartbreaking. These were exemplary people before they became firefighters. Becoming firefighters and doing the job they did makes them special. We'll forever miss them."Arruda, who lost fellow firefighters during his time in Boston, said it's not something easily forgotten."I've been retired for five years now and I still think about those guys all the time," he said. "But this is how you heal. We get together with the family and we feed off of each other. We talk about the good things, talk about the bad things. We talk about how do we learn from this, how do we do better next time. It really makes a difference when we get together."At 9:30 a.m., Boston firefighter Rick Sterling stood by Ladder truck 14 parked in front of the Watertown Fire Department, an enormous American flag hanging from it's outstretched ladder.Sterling, who was with one of the first companies to arrive at the fatal fire in the Back Bay, said it's been a difficult week for the department and it's members."First off we started with the fire, our particular company was on scene for about 10 hours," he said. "We were there when the bodies were taken out. It's just been a very difficult week to deal with. I think we get through something like this with faith, family and the brotherhood of firefighters."Sterling, who didn't know either Walsh or Kennedy personally, said he wasn't surprised by the turnout of fellow firefighters."I've been on for 25 years and every time a firefighter dies in the line of duty it always brings out this amount of support," he said. "You know that your family will be taken care of and supported."Walsh's funeral was attended by Gov. Deval Patrick, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, and Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley.A memorial fund has been set up for both Walsh and Kennedy: Lieutenant Walsh-Firefighter Kennedy Memorial Fund c/o Boston Firefighters Credit Union 60 Hallet St., Dorchester, MA 02124.Watertown TAB reporter Adam Sennott and freelancer Charlie Breitrose also contributed to this article.